The shrimp cocktail at Carmel”s Highlands Inn must have been something else. Or maybe it was the postcard-perfect setting or the special occasions celebrated over dinner. When a reader requested the recipe — not the first time the request has been made — I heard from other readers, too. But they didn”t have the recipe, just treasured memories.

“My husband and I used to go there every year to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and I loved that shrimp cocktail,” emailed Carolyn, who calls herself “a loyal Danville follower.”

So far, the recipe hasn”t appeared in the Home Plates in-box. But some detective work from Plates regular Steph Zervas, of Millbrae, and reader Anna Cecchini might offer a close substitute. “From the description of creamy orange color and a garnish of almonds, I”m wondering if that was a Spanish romesco sauce on the shrimp cocktail,” Zervas says. “It”s supposed to go well with grilled shrimp and fish.”

Zervas found a recipe online from the August 2005 issue of Gourmet magazine. The sauce includes a roasted tomato, ancho chile, toasted hazelnuts, almonds, bread cubes, pimientos and garlic. It sounds like it boasts wonderfully complex flavors, and I plan to serve it with chilled shrimp this Christmas Eve at our family”s traditional appetizer party. I saw an online version that serves the sauce with shrimp roasted in olive oil. The sauce takes a little work, since you roast the tomato, heat other ingredients in a skillet, then run everything through a food processor. But you can make it ahead of time.

Cecchini says she, too, was just remembering a shrimp cocktail from the Highlands Inn. “But I thought it had a white sauce with pineapple,” she says. “Wish I could find that one.” Meanwhile, she offers a cocktail sauce from “The Gourmet Cookbook” as a potential match for fans of orange-colored sauce. This easy sauce includes orange zest and orange juice, along with ketchup, horseradish, Tabasco and lemon juice.

In the mix

Need a little something thoughtful to hand to neighbors and friends this time of year? Maureen Kawaoka, of El Cerrito, has a gift for you: her “go-to recipe for holiday gift-giving.” She makes up batches of caramel popcorn cereal mix.

Kawaoka”s concoction of popcorn, cereal and nuts can easily be varied to suit your taste. She likes adding the little flat crackers with black sesame seeds that she finds at 99 Ranch Market. I saw online versions that included small pretzels and dried cranberries.

Second helpings

Barbara Aschenbrenner”s Great-Aunt Ruth made lovely pine nut cookies, and her recipe lives on. Unfortunately, I inadvertently called her Mary in a column about the cookies. So, let”s give Great-Aunt Ruth the credit she deserves.